Washboard.



W. H. KELLY.

WASHBOARD.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25.1916.

1,21 8,41 1. Patented Mar. 6, 1917. 7

WILLIAM H. KELLY, 0F WALTHAM MASSAGHUSETTS.

WASHZBOARI).

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 6, 191'?! Application filed November 25, 1916. Serial No. 133,350.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. KELLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Valtham, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain useful Improvements in Washboards, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The invention relates to more particularly to the class of self-soaping wash boards.

Theprimary object of the invention is the provision of a wash board of this character wherein the head thereof forms a liquid soap container, and said soa is automatically fed to the rubbing bedv of the board for the soaping of the articles when rubbed upon the board for the scrubbing and cleanlnig thereof, thereby eliminating the use of ca to soap and the hand application of the same, as is usual.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a board of this character wherein the feed of trolled for the supplying of the same to the rubbing bed of said board, thereby enabling economy in the consumption of soap when the board is in use.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a wash board of this character wherein the construction thereof is novel in form to assure the automatic feed of soap to the rubbing. surface thereof for the proper soaping of the articles when rubbing thesame upon the board for the cleaning of such articles in the use of said board.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a wash, board of this character wherein the hand soaping of the articles to be rubbed upon the board is entirely eliminated, while the soap is automatically delivered to the rubbing bed or board for the proper soaping of the articles when rubbed thereon.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a wash board of this character which is simple in 1 construction, thoroughly reliable and efficient in its purpose, strong, durable and inexpensive in manufacture.

Other objects will be in part obvious and a Wash board, and

the soap is automatically conwill be exemplified in the construction here" the scope of the apinafter. described, and plication of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa wash board constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View thereof; v

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4.- is a fragmentary'.top edge View of the board.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing in detail, A designates generally the frame and B the rubbing bed of the wash board, which is of the ordinary well known construction, with the exception that the frame A in the head thereof is formed with a liquid soap container 5 provided in the top thereof with an inlet port or opening 6, through which is introduced the liquid soap into the container, and this port isclosed through the medium of a removable cap 7 which is screwed .or otherwise fastened in closed position.

The soap container 5 extends transversely of the frame A at the head end thereof-and. is preferably made from metal, although the same may be made from any other suitable material, and is formed with a taperedor contracted portion 8 which extends into a seat or channel 9 which is of concaved formation or semi-circular shaped in cross sec-' tion, and is formed in the frame A transversely thereof at a point between the container 5 and the rubbing bed B, the side rails 10 of said frame A being designed to close the ends-of said seat or channel 9, which latter has arranged therein a depressible cylinder 11 which, through the medium of a hinge 12, has swinging connection with the soap container 5, the outer convexed side 13 of said cylinder 11 being protruded beyond the plane of the rubbing bed B of the wash board, while the inner surface of said cylinder carries a connection 14: for a swinging trap gate or door 15 for an outlet 16 formed in the tapered or contracted end of the soap container 5, so that on depressing upon the cylinder 11 the trap gate or door 15 will be automatically opened to allow the liquid soap within the container 5 to flow through in the soap container the outlet 16 into the channel or seat 9 which 1s displaced or forced therefrom on the inward movement of the said cylinder so as to be distributed on to the rubbing bed B of the wash board for the soaping of articles rubbed thereon. On the outward movement of the cylinder 11 the gate or door 15 is closed to check the flow of liquid soap from the container 5 into the seat or channel 9 in the frame A of the wash board, and in this manner the soaping of the articles rubbed upon the bed B of the board is automatically controlled.

Formed in the inner faces of the side rails i of the frame A of the wash board are cut away portions 17 in which are located com-, pressible springs 18, the same being suitably anchored in said cut away portions, and are connected to opposite ends of the cylinder 11 to protrude the same and normally hold it spaced from the wall of the seat or channel 9, and these springs also act on the release of, pressure from the cylinder to force the cylinder outwardly, and thereby automatically close the gate or door 15 at the outlet 14 5, and thus shut off the supply of liquid soap from the latter to the seat or channel, as will be clearly apparent.

In the use of the wash board, when articles to be scrubbed or rubbed are reciprocated upon the rubbing bed B the pressure exerted upon the articles will serve to depress the cylinder 11 for the automatic control of the feed of soap from the container-5 and the distribution of the liquid soap from theseat or channel 9 on to the rubbing bed B of the board for the soaping of the articles while being scrubbed or rubbed thereon in the washing or cleaning of the same.

It is of course to changes, variations and modifications may be made in the invention such as come properly within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of be understood that 1,218,&11

the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,

the construction and manner of use of the herein described wash board will be readily apparent and, therefore, a more extended explanation has been omitted.

. Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a wash board having a seat between the rubbing bed and the head thereof, a liquid soap container within the head of said board and having an outlet communicating with the seat, depressible means movably held within the seat, and means operated by the depressible means for automatically controlling communication between the container and the seat.

2. In a wash board having a seat between the rubbing bed and the head thereof, a liquid soap container withinthe head of said board and having an outlet communicating with the seat, depressible means movably held within the seat, means operated by the depressible means for automatically controlling communication between the container and the seat, and means for normally holding the depressible means raised in the seat.

3. In a wash board, a rubbing bed, a soap container carried by the board and having an outlet, said board being formed with a channel between the soap container and the rubbing bed and communicating with the container outlet, a depressible cylinder located within the channel and swingingly supported, means for controlling the outlet from the container, connections between the cylinder and said means for operating the controlling means on displacement of the cylinder, and resilient means for normally holding the cylinder raised in the seat.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM H. KELLY. 

